An evacuation order has been issued for Navajo communities in the Sheep Springs and Naschitti areas. Approximately 50 residences are threatened by the fire and four structures have been destroyed, officials said.

"Our aircraft have been grounded daily," said Charlie Armiger, a fire information officer for the Forest Service. "We haven't been able to use our helicopters today either, the winds are just too strong."

“I direct all Navajo divisions, departments and programs to commit resources to the Assayii Lake Fire. We need to do all we can to stop the fire from spreading further,” Shelly said in a statement.

We haven't been able to use our helicopters today either, the winds are just too strong.- Charlie Armiger, a fire information officer for the Forest Service

The general public is encouraged not to travel on access roads leading to the Bowl Canyon Recreation Area. Road closures in the area are Route 134 at Sheep Springs to Crystal Boarding School and Route 30 at Mexican Springs.

Amid heightened speculation about whether he will seek the Democratic presidential nomination, Vice President Joe Biden remains at least a month from a decision and has largely left preparatory work to a small circle of trusted longtime aides.

Perched in his wheelchair, "Big Jim" Blake confidently rolls the wooden floors of his old shoot-'em-up saloon, founded here in 1893. The history of the Cowboy Bar is populated with drifters, outlaws and outliers, and its present proprietor brims with wild yarns and tall tales.

President Obama will impose even steeper cuts on greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power plants than previously expected, White House officials said early Sunday, in what the president called the most significant step the country has ever taken to fight global warming.